TOR protein complex's unique architecture has just been revealed

We have always know for a long time that the protein TOR (Target of Rapamycin) - can control the cell growth, and it takes part in the development of cancer, diabetes and other types of diseases. Now there are also other studies on recombinant rat proteins show great progress.

Researchers from the University of Basel's Biozentrum cooperated with other scientists at ETH Zurich to examine the structure of mammalian TOR complex 1 (mTORC1) more detailedly and deeply. In the latest publication in the journal Science, these scientists just revealed the TOR protein's unique architecture.

Professor Michael Hall found the protein TOR about 25 years ago at the Biozentrum. This protein belongs to one of the most studied proteins in the whole protein kinase family, which is an important family of regulatory proteins controlling a lot of cellular processes. In mammals, TOR is called mTOR. It is of great importance for cellular signaling and involves in different diseases like diabetes, cancer and even neurodegeneration. There have many mTOR inhibitors been approved to be applied in therapeutic use, particularly for the treatment of allograft rejection and cancer.

However, although researchers have conducted extensive research on TOR in the past decades, their desire of uncovering detailed structure of the protein kinase and its partners has not been satisfied. Combining cryo-electron microscopy with crystallographic methods, the research team of Professor Timm Maier together with researchers from ETH Zurich now can provide new and novel insight into the protein complex mTORC1’s architecture and production of other recombinant human proteins.